12th banker commits suicide, former JP Morgan employee

A New York City investment banker is dead after allegedly jumping from his apartment building, continuing an alarming streak of suicides that has descended upon the financial world.

The latest death occurred on March 12, when 28-year-old Kenneth Bellando was found on the sidewalk outside his six-story Manhattan apartment building.

According to the Daily Mail, police investigators said the case was still under investigation, but that they do not suspect a third party to be involved and that Bellando – who had been working for Levy Capital since January – likely took his own life.

Before moving into his last position, the New York Post reported Bellando worked as an investment banker at JP Morgan Chase. His brother, John Bellando, also works at JP Morgan as an investment officer; the Post stated that multiple emails by John Bellando were presented as evidence during Senate hearings regarding the “London Whale” trading scandal.

Kenneth Bellando’s death now marks the 12th time this year that an employee in the financial world has taken his or her own life around the globe. Bellando graduated from Georgetown University in 2007, and is the youngest banking professional to commit suicide this year.

Although positions in the banking world can be especially lucrative, they’re also known to place an extreme amount of stress and pressure on individuals. It’s unclear whether or not Bellando’s death is related to pressure at work, but just last month psychologist Alden Cass told CNN Money that investment banking is particularly demanding.

“Out of all the sections of finance, no position do I know of that’s more extreme in terms of the emotional endurance one has to have than investment banking,” said Cass, who also co-wrote “Bullish Thinking: The Advisor’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving on Wall Street.”

The recent string of suicides began in January, when Deutsche Bank AG’s William Broeksmit, 58, was found hanged in his home on January 26 after reportedly committing suicide. Two JP Morgan employees are also believed to have taken their own lives after falling from buildings in London and Hong Kong.

Autumn Radtke, the CEO of the digital currency exchange firm First Meta, was also found dead outside her apartment in Singapore earlier this month.